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New!! Richard Mattson passed away in June 2001. His story is reprinted here. In Defense of Sulo Havumaki as originator of the St. Urho legend Another claim to the origination of the St. Urho legend.
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Happy St. Urho's Day 2008!
The legend of St. Urho originated in Northern Minnesota in the 1950s. However, there are differing opinions as to whether it began with the fables created by Sulo Havumaki of Bemidji, or the tongue-in-cheek tales told by Richard Mattson of Virginia. Either way, the legend has grown among North Americans of Finnish descent to the point where St. Urho is known and celebrated across the United States and Canada, and even in Finland. St. Urho's Day is celebrated on March 16th, the day prior to the better known feast of some minor saint from Ireland, who was alleged to have driven the snakes from that island. The legend says St. Urho chased the grasshoppers out of ancient Finland, thus saving the grape crop and the jobs of Finnish vineyard workers. He did this by uttering the phrase: "Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen" (roughly translated: "Grasshopper, grasshopper, go to Hell!"). His feast is celebrated by wearing the colors Royal Purple and Nile Green. St. Urho is nearly always represented with grapes and grasshoppers as part of the picture. We hope you enjoy our effort to honor this mythical Finnish-American hero. Please feel free to share your St. Urho experiences and celebrations by clicking on the phrase below and sending a note to the webmaster.
Tim "Timo Winkenen" Winker 
FinnFest 2008Timo has been invited to be on the "Legend of St. Urho" panel discussion at this year's FinnFest, to be held in Duluth, Minnesota, July 23-27. More details as they become available. In the meantime, visit the FinnFest 2008 web site.
Saint Urho's Day 2007
Timo and Uncle Toivo spent three weekends celebrating Saint Urho last year, with the 5th Annual Mojakka Cook-Off on March 11th, the parade in Finland, MN, on the 17th, and the Finlayson, MN, parade on the 24th. The SaintUrho.com Saab 900 convertible (built in Uusikaupunki, Finland!) was a part of the parade in Finland, Minnesota, on Saturday, March 17th!!! Link to photos below. If you have photos from other St. Urho's Day celebrations, or better yet, have created your own page chronicling festivities, let us know.
Laskianen in Palo, MN
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